President Donald Trump has said a US warship destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it ignored warnings to lower back off.
He stated the USS Boxer took "defensive action" after the drone omitted repeated warnings and came inside 1,000 yards of the ship.
The president known as it a "provocative and hostile" motion by Iran.
The "fixed-wing unmanned aerial system... closed within a threatening range" at 10am nearby time on Thursday, in accordance to a Pentagon statement.
"The ship took protecting action towards the UAS to make sure the safety of the ship and its crew," it added.
The incident comes amid a length of heightened anxiety between the two countries, which covered Iran remaining month capturing down a US drone it stated was once flying over the country.
That incident saw Mr Trump name off a retaliatory strike at the closing minute because he stated too many humans would have died.
The Strait of Hormuz is a essential transport lane for oil and gas.
However, it has come to be a flash factor following the US selection to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran and impose strict sanctions that are severely damaging its economy.
A foreign tanker with 12 crew used to be seized through Iran in the strait on Sunday, according to state television.
It claimed the UAE-based MT Riah was once smuggling round one million litres of gas from Iranian smugglers to overseas customers.
Iran country TV has launched photos of the seized overseas tanker which Iran says used to be smuggling fuel in the Gulf.
Iran TV indicates off seized gas tanker
Iran has recently accelerated uranium manufacturing and enrichment over the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal to try to put pressure on Europe to offer it better terms and permit it to promote its oil abroad.
The US has subsequently despatched lots of extra troops, nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and fighter jets to the region.
Western powers have also blamed Iran for two mine assaults on oil tankers remaining month off the country's coast - something it denies.
The UK additionally has strained members of the family after Royal Marines seized an Iranian tanker carrying around $120m of oil off Gibraltar.
The operation, at the start of July, used to be carried out over suspicions the ship was breaking EU sanctions by using carrying Iranian oil to Syria.
Iran says the motion used to be illegal.
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